XDA News Articles

There's plenty of amazing mods popping up on XDA every day. Some are very inventive and others are beautiful, but it's the innovative contributions and skillful adaptations that usually catch our eye. This Graphic Equalizer mod by XDA Senior Member Adi Aisiteru Reborn is a mix of both. He has found a way to get the CM 11 Tiles equalizer display mod on other ROMs, and the results are bound to allure plenty of you! What this does is give your...

It was recently revealed that the Sony Xperia SP would not be receiving the official Android 4.4 KitKat update from Sony, which expectedly left many owners rather confused and disappointed. Because after all, its specs shows that the Xperia SP is more than capable of running the update, and the fact that it was released last year doesn't really help explain things. However, not everything is terrible for Xperia SP users at this time, as they have something else to play...

I’m pretty sure that every informed gamer out there perked their ears up when Sony came out with PS4 Remote Play for their Xperia Z3 lineup. For those not in the know, PS4 Remote Play is a unique feature that allows you to remotely play PlayStation 4 games on the device. Unfortunately, according to comment from a Sony representative, the company has “no intent to bring remote play to any device other than Xperia” – a disappointment for anyone wanting to...

When the Sony Xperia Z3 was announced a couple of days ago at IFA 2014, many folks were expectedly excited about what new or improved experiences the device would offer. And just yesterday, the system dump of this new device was made available opening the floodgates for ports to be made to other devices. Now, users of other devices, be it Sony or not, can try out a big part of the new Xperia Z3 with the port of its...

The Jolla phone has been out for a while now, and running Sailfish OS, it presents itself as a fresh and interesting alternative what we've all gotten used to over the years---albeit it has heritage in the more primitive MeeGo previously. Normally, those who are looking to give Sailfish a go would have to either get some hands on experience with the Jolla phone themselves or wait around for a port to their current device. But because both of these options...

It seems like the latest feature to find its way into almost all modern flagship smartphones is 4K video recording. This began with the Acer Liquid S2, and has now made its way to recent flagships from Samsung, LG, and Sony---this being the Galaxy S5, G3, and Xperia Z2, respectively. As with any other new feature found on the latest devices, owners of previous flagships may find themselves longing for the added features. Luckily, Xperia Z1 and Z1 Compact can now enjoy some of this on...

One of the most popular methods of booting multiple ROMs on an Android device we've seen in the past few years is through MultiROM, a program originally developed by XDA Recognized Developer Tasssadar for the Nexus 7. With a number of unofficial ports to multiple other devices such as the Sony Xperia M and the HTC Droid DNA, it's with no surprise that we see another device has followed suit. This time, an unofficial port arrives to to the HTC...

Almost every OEM has its own specific set of branded applications. HTC has its Sense UI and related apps and Samsung has TouchWiz, which makes running KitKat on the International Galaxy S III "impossible." These applications can be used with other ROMs, but they requiring some work. On XDA, we call it porting and you can find many of such applications located in various forums. With PortedAPP by XDA Forum Member APP-Maker, you can now use OEM-specific applications on other devices without...

People may not realize it much, but this fascination with larger screen sizes on smartphones isn't all smiles for every techie out there. One of the best devices of 2013, the Samsung Galaxy S 4, has a downside that small-handed users simply cannot get over that easily: its 5-inch screen. Yes, there is a Galaxy S 4 Mini made especially for them, but many understandably do not want to compromise top-of-the-line specs for a 'Mini' version. It's simply not the...

Sony loves to add various social applications to their device firmwares. In 2010, they added Timescape, which integrates messages with Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Four years later, they still believe that social networks are the best way to keep their customers connected---and they're likely right. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other similar services are dominating the Web. A new version of Sony's social application Sociallife is available on the Xperia Z2's firmware. Having this new flagship is not...

A few days ago, we brought you news of a port of the Sony Xperia Z1-exclusive Motionshot app to all devices running Android 4.0 and up. It's a pretty neat app that essentially generates a still image of a short video. But it seems like Motionshot isn't the only app the Xperia Z1 has to share with the rest of the Android world, as Motiongraph will also be joining the list. Ported by XDA Forum Member xperiaz2 who also ported...

We all should be pretty familiar with split screen functionality on our mobile devices. We've seen it become a defining feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note series with "Multi-Window," and Microsoft has integrated the same function into their desktop/tablet operating systems Windows RT and 8/8.1. In fact, quite recently, we saw the LG G Flex join the list with their "Split View" feature. And as expected of the XDA community, it's been ported to the LG G2. Ported by XDA Recognized...

One nifty app that was made exclusive to Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia Z1, is the MotionShot camera. As its name suggests, it allows you to capture motion in a singular image, with a resulting similar to the featured image to the right. So although MotionShot doesn't necessarily provide an absolutely essential function, it wouldn't hurt to have it on other Android devices. The good thing is, XDA Forum Member xperiaz2 has ported MotionShot to all devices running Android versions...

Now that the roll out of Android 4.3 Jellybean to Sony Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra devices is well under way, some Xperia Z1 owners have noticed one useful feature that's been made available to to only Japanese Xperia Z1 devices (aka SO-01F): white balance. The feature isn't something very new, as it was originally introduced alongside the Xperia ZL earlier this year, and it was inevitably ported over to fellow Xperia devices, namely the Z, T, TX and V. However,...

When the Xperia ZL was released, it shipped with Sony's brand new screen calibration software called White Balance. This software allowed users to separately adjust the white balance, color saturation, and hue of the ZL's screen. A most useful and practical addition, especially considering the importance the screen is to a satisfying smartphone experience, it's with surprise that Sony did not include this in their latest flagship, the Xperia Z. However, worry not, as not only has White Balance been ported to...

Since the debut of Socialife on the Xperia Tablet S in 2012 and the eventual axing of Xperia's main social networking app Timescape in early 2013, Sony has been pushing Timescape's successor Socialife on it's new Xperia devices, the Z, ZL, SP and L. With all this hype surrounding Socialife, it's inevitable that users of 2011 and 2012 Xperia devices would want to get their hands on a piece of the cake as well. Thankfully, XDA Senior Member erorcun has made Sony's...

It seems the list of devices receiving Jelly Bean ports is growing by the second. The GSM Galaxy Nexus has already received an official version, while the international HTC One X has received a port. Not to be outdone, the Samsung Galaxy SIII i9300 has received it's own intial Jelly Bean port thanks to XDA Recognized Developer faryaab. So far the ROM has: What Works: •ADB •Touchscreen •Hardware Acceleration •Notification LED •Cellular Rado (But No Audio so no Calls) •Physical Buttons •SMS...

Since HP announced the release of the webOS source code, the recently abandoned operating system has grown a rather loyal following. Progress has been made in homebrew development and in custom builds for webOS native devices. Many forum members have been clamoring for a port of webOS to Android devices for several months now. Initial ports were expected to appear for the Motorola Droid or its GSM counterpart, the Milestone, since the devices share the same OMAP3 3430 processor with the...

XDA member AidenM shows the first ever ROM for HTC Flyer loaded with the newest operating system from Android: Ice cream sandwich. The work is based on Sensation RCMix 3D Leak w/ Dexter_nlb's fixes for hardware and since it´s a beta version some bugs are present. So far the Developer has a green light on: - Wifi - Market access - AOSP lockscreen - Rotation - Touch - ADB access - External SD It's not perfect, here's what's not working:...

Tis the season to be awesome and with that in mind, XDA Recognized Developer/development super stud aamikam has released a fully functional HTC Runnymede port for the HTC Desire S just in time for some Christmas flashing. The change log on the ROM is extensive (read:ridiculously long), but here's some of the highlights for you Desire S owners: Ext 4 OC Odex or Deodex (we personally like Odex better) Fully Optimized and tweaked Zipalign on boot Defrag DB's on boot...

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